Safpu: Miheso protest in FIFA boss Infantino summit

The South African Football Players Union (Safpu) will picket on Tuesday to protest the delay in investigating the incident in which Harambee Stars winger, Clifton Miheso was allegedly forced to sign a termination letter at gun point by Premier Soccer League Golden Arrows.

In a press statement, Safpu gave notice they would hold their protest starting 7:30am CAT (8:30am EAT) at the prestigious Sandton Convention Centre where world governing body FIFA President, Gianni Infantino is expected to lead all 54 African member countries in a day-long executive summit.

“This is after our genuine calls to the authority of football to investigate the incident at Golden Arrows where Clifton Miheso was forced to sign termination of contract at gun point, were never taken serious,” Safpru wrote in a statement.

“Among other things, we shall be demanding, #Justice4Miheso, #Respect4ContractualStability, #FootballersRightToChoose and possible handover of the letter of the demand to the FIFA President,” they added.

“Members of the community can join us as we seek justice and better treatment for our players, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH,” the Safpru statement further read.

Each of the continent’s 54 member countries has been invited to a day-long executive summit with Infantino that has been called to discuss general issues in the game and explain Fifa’s plans to expand the World Cup and changes to its development structures.

The association presidents will be divided into two groups with some 25 meeting Infantino and other Fifa officials on Tuesday and the rest repeating the exercise the next day, organisers told Reuters.

Football Kenya Federation President, Nick Mwendwa is among the federation chiefs expected at the summit that is the first of its kind held where Fifa deals directly with all the leaders of African football.

-Take refuge-

The former AFC Leopards midfielder was forced out of Golden Arrows on January 14 when he was compelled to take refuge in a South African Police Station after an alleged gun drama having been their player for only six months.

It was claimed that Miheso was summoned by club CEO, Gordon Masondo and ushered into an office where two men held a gun in his head and forced him to sign documents he was not aware of their contents.

They took off with the document and Masondo together with another club official walked in and then demanded the copy of his contract with the club that Miheso had in his possession but the player fled to the police station.

Miheso, through his lawyers, then demanded on January 31 half a million Rand (about Ksh3.86 million) from his former club Golden Arrows.

Through his lawyers, Wambilianga Majani and Associates, Miheso sent a demand letter to Arrows, demanding compensation for “harassment, breach of contract and unlawful termination of contract.”

His plight landed at the doorstep of world professional footballers’ union, FIFPro which rallied their support for Miheso.

FIFPro, which defends the rights of 65,000 professional footballers worldwide, posted a statement on its official Twitter handle pressing Safpu and South African authorities to bring Miheso’s assailants to justice.

The chilling incident of Miheso’s gun drama was first published by Citizen Digital.